Col. John Farnam, commanding officer of the Marine installation, asked San Diegans to attend anyway. He promised to give families a time to remember despite this year's constraints, and a chance to meet the Corps' most valuable asset, its Marines.

“They are who I need you to see and understand,” Farnam said. The base open house “will give you an opportunity to understand your Marine Corps and what it is that we do for the nation. To see that your trust in us, to protect our way of life, to protect our nation, is not misplaced.”